Wal-Mart plans to open hundreds of in-store clinics

By 2014, Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart could have up to 2,000 in-store clinics, if “current market forces continue,” according to a company news release.

The health clinics will lease space in Wal-Mart stores and will be managed by local or regional hospitals and other organizations independent of the store. Each provider of the clinic will determine what services to provide, ranging from routine care for allergies and sinus infections to cholesterol screenings and school physicals.

Wal-Mart Senior Manager of Public Affairs Carrie Thum said it’s too early to say where the clinics will be, but there are no immediate plans to locate any in Missouri. Wal-Mart has five stores in Springfield and at least 10 locations in surrounding areas, according to its Web site.

The clinics will be staffed by either physicians or certified nurse practitioners. Prices for all services and procedures will be clearly listed at each clinic.

The initiative is the expansion of a pilot project that began in September 2005; 76 clinics are currently operating inside Wal-Mart stores in 12 states. Nearly half of the customers who visit the existing clinic are uninsured, according to the release, and nearly 15 percent say they would have gone to an emergency room if not for a Wal-Mart clinic.

“We know that customers like and want these clinics,” Wal-Mart President and CEO Lee Scott said in the release. “At existing clinics in our stores, about 90 percent of patients report being satisfied or very satisfied. They appreciate the fast, easy and convenient experience.”

The plan to open additional in-store clinics comes after the retailer launched a $4 generic prescription drug program in September. Since then, Wal-Mart estimates customers have saved about $290 million on selected drugs, and the $4 prescriptions now account for more than 35 percent of all prescriptions filled at Wal-Mart stores.